Life Goes On
by Vanillart
Summary: Tadashi always thought life ended when you died. It turns out there's more to the afterlife than meets the eye. Even the nice angels can become dark when evil is planted inside their hearts. This evil could make you go against even the people you love most...and make you do unthinkable things.
1. Chapter 1- Arrival

**After looking around BH6 fanfics, I haven't seen any stories about Tadashi's life ****_after_**** he dies. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. I just hope this story doesn't become a complete flop. Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p>All Tadashi saw was a flash of blinding light.<p>

The last thing he remembered was running into the smoking building, despite Hiro's cries for him to stay. His feet had pounded on the concrete steps as he burst into the room, face covered by his hand to keep the smoke out as he called out for Professor Callighan. His voice had become hoarse and his eyes were stinging from the smoke. _Was he too late?_

And then there was the light. It seemed like he was just running through the flaming halls and then the light consumed him whole. When he opened his eyes again he was in somewhere completely different.

"What the…" he murmured as he took in his surroundings. Tadashi was in a large meadow, flowers blooming every few inches. The sky was a bright blue, but there wasn't a sun. It felt as the light wasn't coming from one particular light source, but more like, _everywhere_.

Tadashi was in awe of this strange place. Not to mention he felt great. Like he had enough energy to run around the Earth. His eyes weren't watering from the smoke and his chest wasn't heaving from inhaling dust. It was like being reborn.

He started walking, taking in everything his eyes could see. Everything in this place just seemed so perfect. It was like he had walked right into a storybook Aunt Cass used to read to him. Tadashi carefully kneeled down to look at the flowers. He researched a bit in plants, only for a month or so, and only so he could add to his medical knowledge. However, that month taught which plants could heal, were edible, were extremely deadly, and where certain plants grew. It seemed like a waste of time back then, but as of now a wave of gratefulness washed over him. If he could recognize the flowers, maybe he could figure out where he was. Then he could figure out how to get back to San Fransokyo.

The flowers growing in the meadows were varied in all colors, but each one of them had a vibrant color and large silky petals. They had green leaves that danced in the breeze and had a fuzzy stem. Tadashi picked one of the flowers out from the ground and examined it. The flower wasn't anything he had ever seen before. He was about to give it a closer look when he heard something that sounded like a bell chime.

From where he had uprooted the flower from the ground, a new plant was now blossoming in its place. It was the same exact color and was a complete replica of the flower he now had in his hands. Tadashi watched in horrified amazement as the plant stretched its leaves and petals out and the bell chime sound stopped.

Before he could even process what just had happened, a blueish gray Border Collie exploded through the meadow before it pounced on the robotics genius. The dog barked happily and began licking Tadashi's face frantically.

"Oomph. Get off me dog," Tadashi laughed as the dog attacked his face. Obeying his request, the canine hopped off Tadashi's chest and sat down next to him before he began to howl. Tadashi stared at the dog. "What is going on?" he murmured.

"Winston!" a voice cried out. Tadashi blinked and turned his head to find the owner of the voice. A girl appeared, no older than his own brother. Her chestnut brown hair was gathered in a ponytail and she held a clipboard in her hand. She wore a white dress that reached her ankles and golden sandals with little wings on the side. Her green eyes met with Tadashi's and she sighed with relief. The dog yapped and rushed to greet the girl. She patted him quickly on the head then turned to Tadashi. "You have no idea how relieved I am," she gushed. "We lose a lot of people here, and most of the time they wander off too far and get lost forever." She laughed when she saw Tadashi's eyes widen. "I'm kidding! Geez, for a guy who always teases his brother you're really uptight."

Immediately Tadashi stiffened. Hiro! He was so caught up in this supernatural flower meadow that he didn't give a second thought to where the heck his boneheaded brother he ok? Oh God, Tadashi hoped Hiro didn't run into the building after him. Was he here also, but had wandered off in a different direction? His head swiveled back and forth trying to locate Hiro. The girl frowned at him. "He's not here. And you should be thankful for that," she said. The girl turned her attention towards her clipboard. "Are you Tadashi Hamada?"

"Er, yes," he said. "Look, can you tell me where I am? I need to find my brother."

The girl squinted at him. "You're Here."

Was this girl for real? "I know I'm here," he said patiently. "Care to elaborate where exactly is Here?"

"I just told you where you are," she replied. "But you are a newcomer, so no wonder you're confused. Most people call it Here, others call it The Place, but since you're fresh off from the earth plane, I think you're more familiar with the term _Heaven._"

It was as if all the air rushed out from his lungs - then he realized he didn't feel the urge to breathe. "What?" he wheezed. "Are you saying that I'm…. dead?"

She looked at him with sympathy. "What was the last thing you remember Tadashi?" she asked gently.

"The building… it was on fire…" _No no, this isn't right. It's just a dream… or maybe I'm in a coma. I'm not dead!_

"Afraid you are," the girl said, as if reading his mind. She looked at her golden sandals and picked at her skirt. "Did you really think you could survive a building on the verge of explosion?"

Tadashi's legs gave way and he fell on his knees. He was never going to see Hiro, or Aunt Cass, or Mochi, or any of his friends again. Not until they died too, and hopefully that would be a long way off. Winston whined sadly and nuzzled his face. Tadashi absentmindedly petted the dog on the head. _How is Hiro going to handle this? He's still a kid! And what about all my plans for the future? Graduating college? Getting my own house? _Tadashi shook his head.

Kneeling down, the girl said quietly, "I know you this is a shock to you, but we still need to keep on schedule." She tapped her clipboard. "Got a lot more people to pick up after you." When she realized that Tadashi made no move to even acknowledge her, she sighed and said fiercely, "No offense if I come off harsh, but you're not the first person to die, nor will you be the last. I already gave you time to throw yourself a pity party, now you need to move on. According to orders, I'm supposed to show you how we do things Here. So quit your moping and follow. I actually wasn't lying when I said some people get lost out here." She turned on her heel and began marching off, Winston trotting behind her.

Sensing truth in her words, Tadashi slowly got up and followed her. When they were finally walking side by side, he could see her more clearly. Her skin was flawless and if he closely inspected her green eyes they seemed to be a large mix of blues, greens, and gold, all swirled together to create a brilliant emerald color. And now that he had a closer look, he realized her hair seemed to be shimmering and floating also. Tadashi cleared his throat and asked, "Are you an er.. angel?"

"No. Don't be an idiot." She glared at Tadashi and rolled her eyes when he saw his confused expression. "I'm what you are- a dead person. Only I have a status. I'm a Greeter. My job is to bring the new arrivals to Here." She tilted her head and looked at him with a slight smile. "Who knows, maybe you'll have a status like I do. From what I've heard, you're a genius."

Immediately Tadashi denied her compliment. "I wouldn't really say genius," he mumbled. "My brother is way smarter than me. After all, you're talking to a guy who ran into a collapsing building with no thoughts on his safety."

"Don't be so humble," the girl shot back sternly. "If the Council said you're a genius then you are." She stopped in her tracks and untied her ponytail. Tadashi watched in surprise when she took out a brass key which had been hidden in her hair. "We're here," she announced.

Tadashi looked up and jumped back, wondering why he hadn't seen it before now. In front of him was a large golden gate. The gate seemed to stretch across the whole meadow. Carved into the thick gold bars of the gate were greetings written in all types of languages. Japanese, Mandarin, English, Latin, Arabic - the words all sent the same message: Hello and Welcome. Decorations of dragon, birds, flowers, and other animals danced around the words. The Greeter unlocked the gate with her key, and the doors opened, bright light pouring out of it.

"Welcome to Heaven, Tadashi."

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><p><strong>AN: If you got this far down, then thanks for reading! There's more to it than just this. Please review and tell me what you think!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2- Adjustment

**Thanks for all your feedback so far! Here's the second chapter. Enjoy! (Oh and I forgot to mention I don't own Big Hero 6)**

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><p>Heaven was not what Tadashi expected.<p>

To be honest he thought Heaven was mostly people with wings who lived on clouds that played harps and sang in choirs. He thought everyone wore all white and flew from place to place while eating golden apples. But the sight in front of him was not expected. It looked like an extremely busy street, minus all the cars, taxis, and traffic. On each side of the street where shops, restaurants, cafés, and to his surprise there was even a Starbucks and McDonalds. Trees were planted on both sides of the street and smells of peppermint and gingerbread drifted through the air. People were hurrying from building to building, and some just disappeared right into thin air. As he took everything in, Tadashi opened and closed his mouth over and over again until his Greeter grabbed his jaw.

"Stop looking like an idiot."

"Sorry. It's just looks so much like...Earth."

The girl laughed and Winston barked. "You newcomers are always really funny. Heaven isn't just clouds and stuff, you know. This is Main Street, I guess you can call it. Newcomers like you usually go here mostly to find their relatives and friends. A place where you can find your family if they're dead, you can say. It's a good meeting place, but most people prefer to go other places."

A million questions zoomed around inside Tadashi's brain. _What exactly are the other places you can go? Why do some people just disappear? Why the heck do we need restaurants Here if we're dead and don't need to eat? Do we still need to eat? Do we sleep?_ But then Tadashi realized what the number one question on his mind was: What was this girl's name?

"My name is Mariah."

Tadashi stared at her. Mariah looked at him as if waiting for more questions. "You can read my mind?" he blurted out.

"In a way, yes. But only some of us can do it, so don't worry."

Mariah looked up to the sky. "We wasted too much time." She frowned. "I'm just going to tell you the basics of Here. Everything here mostly runs on manifesting and desire. Once you got that down, afterlife's a breeze here."

_Manifest and desire?_ "How does that work?" Tadashi asked curiously. He felt as if he was back in fourth grade and first learning about robotics - full of questions, curiosity, and uncertainty.

"Easy," Mariah replied. To make an example, she made a sugar cookie appear out of nowhere and into her hand. "All you have to do is think about what you want. Picture it in your mind and its yours." Mariah made another cookie appear, but gave it to Winston to eat. "You try it."

"Ok." Tadashi shut his eyes and thought about the one thing he _needed _to see right now - Hiro. In his mind, he could see his little brother, with his messy hair, small tooth gap, and big, brown eyes. He wasn't sure if his manifestation had worked until he heard a laugh he was all too familiar with.

Tadashi's eyes flew open and saw Hiro, just like he was back on earth. Same bird's nest hair, same goofy smile, same _everything._ "Tadashi!" Hiro yelled.

Tadashi immediately rushed over to give Hiro a bone crushing hug, but as soon as he touched his brother, Hiro disappeared, fading away into nothing. Tadashi pulled back in shock. "Wha..what?"

"You can manifest people, but they usually disappear in a minute," Mariah said sympathetically. "Don't worry, you're not the first person to try to create someone they miss."

"Oh." So much for having Hiro by his side.

"Anyways, you're going to need a place to stay," Mariah said. "So just think of a large, empty space, big enough for you to build a house." Tadashi did as he was told, and before he knew it the two of them were surrounded by whiteness. Main Street had completely disappeared.

"Good job," Mariah complimented. "Now I guess you can say this is the fun part. You can make your own home. Just imagine a place you want to live in, and _poof _it's yours. You can always change it later if you decide you want to live somewhere different.

Tadashi was confused. "Why would I need a house if I'm already, you know, _dead?_"

Mariah sighed. "Holy smokes, explaining things to you is harder than I thought. It's required that all residents of Here have some sort of place to stay, even if they don't want to live in there. Now will you please manifest a place to live at? Imagine anything you want."

_Imagine whatever I want? _Tadashi thought about all the types of homes his earth self had wanted. A large apartment building with glass walls that overlooked the ocean. A large, cozy log cabin in the mountains where he could make s'mores and coco with his friends. But in the end, what _did_ he really want? So he closed his eyes and imagined the perfect house, one that could give him the feeling of hominess that any other house couldn't.

"You know, most people who come here usually think up of a huge mansion complete with a moat and a horse carriage. I think this is the first time anyone decided they want to live in a bakery."

The whiteness that had swamped Tadashi's vision before had turned into the San Fransokyo streets, just like he remembered back home. In front of Tadashi and Mariah was the Lucky Cat Cafe - or at least as close to an exact replica of it.

Tadashi opened the door and looked around in awe. Everything was like how he left it. The dining area of the cafe was the same with its clean white chairs and tables.. The glass display cases were filled with donuts and other sweets his aunt always made. Mariah opened one of the cases and pulled out a donut. She bit into it hummed with delight. "Thish is delish," she said, swallowing. " I don't know how you did it, but this tastes different from normal manifested food. It tastes like...like.."

"Like what?" Tadashi took a chocolate donut and popped it into his mouth. Though even after swallowing it he felt no difference in his hunger, the taste was still amazing. Warm and packed with flavor, as if Aunt Cass just pulled it out of the oven.

"Like it would be on earth," Mariah finished. "All manifested food tastes really rich - unnaturally rich and sweet. Earth food doesn't have flavor as strong, but somehow it just tastes _right._" She shook her head. "It's hard to explain."

"Now tell me again how you're planning to live inside a bakery?" Mariah asked, wiping her frosted hands on her skirt. "Not that I'm judging."

"I'm not living _inside _the bakery. I'm living in the apartment above it." Tadashi began ascending the staircase that led up to the apartment, Mariah following behind. Once in awhile she's stop and look at the picture frames mounted to the walls.

"Is your brother's hair always that messed up?" she asked, jabbing a finger at a photo of Hiro when they went camping. "Tadashi looked over his shoulder and laughed when he saw what Mariah was pointing at.

"Most of the time, yeah, but that was taken after he fell into a ditch because he was chasing our cat." The memory of Hiro chasing Mochi through the forest surfaced as he remembered that camping trip.

"_Why do we have to go camping?" Hiro complained as he helped unload the tent from the car. "Couldn't we just go to the science museum in the next city? Tadashi gritted his teeth as he let Mochi out to smell around. He had to suffer through an onslaught of "Why?" and "Can we pleaassee go home?" for three hours straight and he was thisclose to duct taping his eight year old brother's mouth shut._

"_It's because we're have a family bonding experience sweetie," Aunt Cass replied for the eightieth time. "It's going to be fun you'll see." She gave Hiro a heavy backpack which she had filled with food for hikes. "Put this down for me please, Hiro."_

"_You know what's fun? Visiting the science museum," Hiro retorted as he grabbed the backpack. Unfortunately he had underestimated the backpack's weight and dropped it - right on Mochi's tail. The poor cat screeched bloody murder before shooting off like a rocket. Mochi zipped past Tadashi's feet and darted into the forest._

"_Mocchhhiii come back!" Hiro wailed running after him. Tadashi watched as his brother's fast legs caught up to Mochi before pouncing on him. "Gotcha!" Hiro said triumphantly before tripping over his feet and landing into a ditch. Mochi screeched again as something else landed on his tail -Hiro._

_Tadashi had restrain himself from laughing at Hiro's scraped knees and tangled hair. "Good thing I brought the first aid kit,"_

As soon as the memory faded away Tadashi felt a pang of loneliness in his heart. Was this how his afterlife was going to be, only able to see Hiro for a few seconds if he manifested him and through photos that weren't authentic, just replicas of the real thing? He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice that Mariah had put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll get over it," Mariah said softly. "It seems hard now, but the afterlife gets better. Really." She shouldered past Tadashi as she went up the stairs. "Are you going to show me you room?" she called out.

Tadashi raised an eyebrow as he caught up with her. "Don't you have a job to do?" He pointed at her clipboard filled with the names of all the dead people she was supposed to greet.

"Oh this?" She lifted the clipboard and pointed to where his name _Tadashi Hamada_ was written in glowing, golden ink. "Once your name glows red it means you just died. It glows blue when it means you're at the Field of Arrival - that meadow you were in with all the flowers. It glows gold when you're already Here." Mariah pointed at the name below Tadashi's. "As you can see here, Jack Monroe's name is not glowing red or blue, so I don't need to be at the field yet."

Tadashi pointed to all the names below Jack's. "What about black ink?"

"That means they're going to die soon, but not yet."

"Mm." Tadashi pushed the door open to his bedroom. "Here we are."

Winston shoved himself between Mariah and Tadashi, then bounded inside the room, giving everything a careful sniff before hopping on Hiro's bed and laying down. Tadashi felt the urge to tell him to get off, but what really was the point? It's not like Hiro even needed the room anyways. With a sigh, Tadashi pushed the shoji screen that acted as a wall between the brothers' bedroom away. He flopped down on his bed and watched as Mariah looked at everything inside his replicated bedroom with deep interest.

"What's this?" she asked, holding a black robot and examining it from all angles. Tadashi grinned.

"That's Megabot. My brother built it and uses it to win his, and may I add, _illegal_, botfights."

Mariah looked at Megabot's yellow, happy face and smiled. "It's so adorable."

"That's not the word I would use," Tadashi replied, remembering the one time he followed Hiro to his botfight. He had watched as his cocky little brother tossed his money in the pot, and began battling the larger robot in the arena. He remembered the first fight where Hiro would fake defeat, only to add more money inside the pot for a second round. He remembered the shocked look on the opponent's face as his bot's head was ripped from its body and Megabot's red face turned switched into the happy face after it had won the fight. He also remembered bailing his little brother out after he got cornered in an alley by the sore loser and his thugs. A faint smile tugged at Tadashi's lips. Even though what Hiro did was illegal, he was slightly impressed at his brother's botfighting skill.

"Wow, that was violent," Mariah said, disapproval dripping from her voice as she glared at Tadashi. He looked at her blankly.

"What?" _What's violent? Is she talking about the botfight I was just thinking about? And how did she -_

"Didn't I tell you I can read your mind?" Mariah asked in annoyment. "And that includes watching your memories."

Tadashi gaped. Was anything safe from this girl? "Hey, that's an invasion of privacy!" he cried.

"Well if you don't want me to read your mind, then block me out," she snapped back. "Maybe you aren't as smart as I thought you were." The Greeter looked at her clipboard, where Jack Monroe's name was glowing red. "Guy just died. Have to greet him otherwise he'll have a panic attack." Mariah tied her hair back into the ponytail she was wearing when Tadashi had arrived. "Let's go, Winston," she called out. The Border Collie, which had been drooling on Hiro's sheets, woke up with a start and quickly followed his master.

Suddenly realizing that the only person he knew in Heaven was leaving, Tadashi jumped off his bed and grabbed Mariah by the shoulder. "Wait," he panted.

Mariah looked at him with a bemused expression. "Yeah?"

"Um.. I was wondering.. if er.. I could meet you later? You know after you're done with your job. I was thinking maybe you can show me around Here a little bit more? If that's um, ok with you." God he was terrible at talking to girls. Even little girls who were only thirteen and weren't even taller than his shoulders.

Mariah smiled slightly. "I'll meet you at Starbucks today at 8:30. That's when my shift ends."

Looking to his right, Tadashi saw light streaming from the window. "Er AM or PM?"

Mariah blinked. "Is there really a difference?" She looked at the clipboard. "I really got to go. I'll see you later, Tadashi." She walked out, but just before she reached the stairs she wheeled back and poked her head through the doorway.

"And by the way, I am NOT a little girl."

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><p><strong>If you got this far and loved it, please review! I really want to hear what you think so far, even if your review is only one word. Also thanks to my three lovely editors (you know who you are ;). They help make my chapters as great as possible. Also, thanks to regularshow565, jmfan2244, candycanelila, Cory the Freak-of-Nature, and Hazard for reviewing! <strong>


	3. Chapter 3- Promise?

**Back with the third chapter! It's all going to lead up to the main event, but first we kinda need to get some exposition outta the way. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Excuse me, do you know what time it is?"<p>

This was the fifth time Tadashi had asked that question to the passerby on Main Street. He had been so busy manifesting robot parts to build another Baymax that he lost track of time and was now hoping he didn't miss his meeting with Mariah. If he did and she got mad at him, Tadashi would lose the only friend he had in Here. This resulted in pestering others for the time and so far all he got were unsatisfactory answers.

"It's 12:14," one woman had replied.

"3:37, obviously," an impatient man had snapped.

"Adventure Time!" a child had giggled at him.

"It's the time of the apocalypse," a moody teenager had replied darkly, slightly freaking Tadashi out.

"Time is an illusion up Here," a woman who overhead Tadashi's question called out. "There's no actual time, but there's an Earth clock in Town Square that might give you a better answer." she replied bluntly.

Grateful he finally got a useful reply, Tadashi thanked the woman and began running down the street. _Town Square should be at the end of the street, _Tadashi thought as he ran around people on the sidewalk.

But after what seemed like five minutes of running, Main Street didn't seem to be getting any shorter and Town Square, where ever that was, didn't seem to be getting any closer. Stopping to get a better look around, Tadashi realized that the street seemed to on infinitely. _Oh shit._

Tadashi began to worry. He _really _needed to find Town Square.

Before he knew it, Tadashi felt like he was on a roller coaster that was running at high speed. He tried to scream in terror but the rush of pressure was squeezing him so much he couldn't move a muscle. It was like he was being thrown like a rag doll until the roller coaster feeling went away and with a _thud_ he fell on his face, his mind exploding with thoughts of _What had just happened?_

The shock from whatever-the-heck-just-happened stayed as Tadashi didn't bother to get up, too stunned to even realize where he was.

"Hey Mister, you ok?"

Tadashi looked up and saw a boy looking at him with deep concern. "Do you need a doctor?" the boy questioned.

Tadashi quickly got up and brushed himself off. "No I'm fine," Tadashi said. He looked around. Unlike Main Street, this place had buildings on all four sides, with fountains and decorations organized in the middle. Guitar players, mimes, and street magicians were scattered all around, impressing people with their skills. "What is this place?" Tadashi wondered out loud.

"Town Square," the boy replied. "Mister, I think you hit your head really really _really_ hard."

"Town Square?" Excitement bubbled up inside Tadashi. He found it! But how? He wheeled back to face the boy. "Hey, did you see how I arrived here?"

"Sure did. You transported, I think, 'Cause you came out of thin air before falling on your face."

Tadashi suddenly remembered how he really wanted to find Town Square, and now he was there. Maybe this was another part of manifestation and desire that Mariah was talking about.

"Thanks for your help," Tadashi said to the boy, who was watching the man suspiciously as if he believed Tadashi was mentally ill.

"No problem Mister. But you should really get your head checked out." The boy turned around and began to leave.

Tadashi thought about why he would need to get his head checked out when he already was dead, and walked towards the middle, past on the golden fountains and hot dog vendors, until a large green clock loomed into view. As he got closer, Tadashi could read the large words on the top of the clock that spelled out EARTH TIME. The clock hands were pointing to 8:25.

He tapped on a woman's shoulder. "Excuse me, is that clock's time accurate?"

The woman, who was juggling several shopping bags, glanced over her shoulder. "Oh yes, you can never go wrong with Earth Time," she replied. "The clock for Here is never accurate." She then walked into a nearby boutique to continue her shopping.

8:25? A wave of panic washed over Tadashi. He only had five minutes to make it to Starbucks! Quickly, he shut his eyes and did what he did before. He _desired _to be at Starbucks. He felt the weird roller coaster feeling once more and this time his teleportation made him land on something hard.

"Gah!" a familiar voice cried out.

Groaning, Tadashi sat up on whatever he had landed on and saw Mariah looking at him in shock. Winston looked at him with a tilted head, letting out an _aroo_ of confusion "Did you just fall out the sky?" Mariah demanded.

Suddenly, Tadashi realized he had landed on top of a table in Starbuck's patio. "No, I did not fall out of the sky. I teleported," Tadashi retorted. He swung his legs off the table and hopped off. Customers around him were looking at him with disapproving looks. He cringed, then pulled up a chair to sit on.

Mariah laughed. "So you already learned how to teleport? Not bad for a newbie. Except for the landing-on-the-table part."

"Teleportation defies the laws of physics," Tadashi grumbled, wiping himself off and cursing after touching an open cut on his forearm.

"Tadashi, this whole _place_ defies the laws of physics. There's no room for logical science here."

Mariah waved over a waiter. "Can we have two pumpkin spice lattes, please?"

As the waiter went inside to get their order, Mariah leaned back in her chair. "Ok, you wanted this meeting so you can learn more about Here. Shoot."

Smiling at Mariah's bossy tone, Tadashi leaned forward. "Ok, first question. Do we need to eat and sleep?"

"It's not necessary, but it's recommended. Sleep rejuvenates the spirit, brain, and soul, and eating food seems to make people happier. So yes, you should take some time out of your eternal life to eat and sleep."

"Second question." Tadashi ducked his head under the table to look at Winston. "What happens when pets die?" He thought of Mochi, the fat calico cat that always loved the Hamada brothers (except when Hiro attached rocket boots to his paws).

Mariah petted Winston as she answered. "All dogs go to Heaven, have you never seen that movie as a kid? Of course, every other breed also goes to Heaven. Wild animals are put in a different parts though. As for pets, when they die they prefer waiting for their masters to rejoin with them. In other words, if your pet died, he or she would probably wait for you up in Heaven."

"So Winston was your dog in your earth life?"

Mariah shook her head. "No, Winston died a stray. I adopted him from Here's Pound."

The waiter came to their table and gave them their lattes. "Thanks," Mariah said.

"You don't have to pay him?" Tadashi asked.

Mariah looked at him with a _Are you serious _look. "Everyone here is dead. What could we possibly need money for?"

Tadashi's face was turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, r-right…". _Man, I sound like an idiot._

"Yes, you do," Mariah smirked. "Now if our chat is over.." She pushed her chair in and began drinking her latte. "I'll see you later Tadashi."

"Wait!" Tadashi pushed his chair over with a loud scraping noise. He jumped up quickly and grabbed Mariah's shoulder. "I have one last question."

Mariah stared at his hand. "You have a really annoying habit of grabbing people so they can't leave. If I didn't know you, I would have thought you were a pedophile." Tadashi scowled at her and exaggeratedly took his hold off of her, then crossed his arms. His face darkened a bit as he thought about what he was going to say.

"I want to see my parents." he stated. People around him silenced and even a happy bouncy cocker spaniel dog, who had a shiny collar on with the word "Lady" printed on it, eyed Tadashi. Mariah looked stunned. "What?" she squeaked.

"My parents. They died ten years ago. I'm hoping they ended up in Here also.

Mariah let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God, they're dead already." At Tadashi's bewildered look, she started fumbling for words. "I didn't mean it in _that _way I just meant that finding people who already passed on is easier than seeing people who are down on Earth."

"Does that mean I can see them?"

"Yeah, of course. But not right now. Tomorrow, maybe."

Tadashi smiled, but then frowned deeply. "Wait, how is seeing people down on Earth hard?"

The tense feeling rushed through Mariah again. _Shit, what do I say?_ Mariah darted her eyes and said, in an overly bright tone, "Hey, how about we go somewhere else? Like, right now." She grabbed Tadashi by the elbow and began pulling him away, customers watching them in confusion. Tadashi was taken by surprise at this unexpected side of Mariah, but got over it and dug his heels into the ground.

"Mariah."

"Yeah?" she said, voice still high and falsely cheery.

"You're avoiding my question."

"No I'm not. I said you can visit your parents tomorrow. Now lets _move._" She tugged harder on Tadashi, but the man didn't budge.

"Not that question. The one about seeing people on Earth."

She huffed. "I'll explain on the way, ok?"

With a shrug, Tadashi let himself be dragged through the street by a preteen girl, despite the strange looks he got from everybody on the on the sidewalk.

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><p>"What is that place?"<p>

Tadashi looked at where Mariah was pointing. It was a large, golden building with a statue of Earth on the roof. People were entering the building with what seemed like great excitement .

"That's the Looking Room," Mariah said dully. "It's where people go to watch the current life down on Earth. In other words, where you can see your family." She looked up and saw Tadashi basically bouncing up and down with eagerness.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Tadashi tried to dash towards the building, but Mariah grabbed him.

"Not so fast. Tadashi…" Mariah squirmed under her friend's look and averted her gaze. "Idon'tthinkyou'rereadyforthis," she sputtered so quickly it was almost incomprehensible. Unfortunately, Tadashi understood every heart breaking word.

"What?"

"Tadashi you just _died._ Do you really want to see how your family is taking it?"

"If it means I get to see them again, then _yes. _I don't care if my heart gets shattered into a billion pieces!"

"You say that like you can handle it but I know you can't! We both know that! You're not ready, can't you just trust me on that?" Mariah felt tears starting to prick at her eyes. Why did Tadashi have to be so stubborn?

Realizing how distressed Mariah was, Tadashi muttered reluctantly, "Fine. I won't go."

"Promise?"

Tadashi looked at her. He wanted to trust Mariah, really he did. But something was biting him in the gut, something that told him she was hiding something. He replied, "Only if you promise you won't keep any secrets from me."

Mariah nodded without hesitation. "Promise."

Tadashi didn't know that Mariah was crossing her fingers behind her back.

Just like how Mariah didn't notice that Tadashi had his fingers crossed also.

"Promise," Tadashi said.

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><p><strong>If you took the time to read, please take the time to review! I like hearing your feedback. Thanks to those who followed and faved, and to my lovely editor for helping me write this*Give everyone Baymax shaped cookies* <strong>


	4. Chapter 4- Letters

**This chapter is quite short, but only so I can write the Christmas chapter by, well, Christmas. Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p><em>Earth, San Fransokyo<em>

Hiro was in denial.

It had already been one week since Tadashi's funeral. He had locked himself inside his bedroom and had made no move to do anything productive. He knew Aunt Cass was worried about him, but she was smart enough to leave him alone, at least for now.

Hiro glanced over to the other side of the bedroom he and Tadashi used to share. The bed was made, all his books were stacked neatly against the wall, and everything was how Tadashi had left it the morning before the showcase. The only thing different was the baseball cap that now laid on his bed. It had fallen off Tadashi's head when he was running into the building. Hiro looked at the cap blankly. For some reason, he couldn't accept the fact that Tadashi was gone. Maybe that was why he refused to close the shoji board that separated the brothers' rooms.

Hiro thought that if he left everything the way it was, his brain would be tricked into thinking that Tadashi was coming back, that he was just away for now but would be coming back. And brains could be easily tricked.

Hiro's heart couldn't.

Because his heart knew better. That Tadashi was gone for good. And no amount of upbeat, positive thoughts that everything would be okay was going to change that. No amount of consolations from Tadashi's friends could change that. In fact, it only made it worse. It just kept reminding him that Tadashi was dead.

So Hiro sat there, staring at that empty room. He didn't know he was crying until he could feel the wetness of his tears as they trickled down his face. He wiped the salty droplets with his hand and turned around. His journal layed on his always messy desk, the page opened to his plans for the microbots. Hiro clenched his fists. It was because of those stupid Microbots that his brother was dead. If he had never built them, they never would have gone to the Showcase and Tadashi would still be here with him.

Hiro walked towards the desk and sat down in the chair. He just stared at the Microbots page for awhile before flipping to the blank page after it. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing, but Hiro sharpened his pencil and began writing a letter.

A letter to Tadashi.

It took a whole hour for Hiro to write, probably because he needed it to be perfect. It was just something that was nagging him, something that said Tadashi wasn't gone. And the only way for him to believe it was to write it out.

_Dear Tadashi,_

_I don't know if Heaven exists, but if it does I hope you're up there, living your life to the fullest. Or at least your afterlife._

_I'm not coping well. I miss you a lot, obviously. You're the only immediate family I have left and now you're dead. So yeah, I'm depressed._

_It's my fault. I mean, if we had never gone to that Showcase, you'd be here with me right now. And I wouldn't be writing this letter right now,_

_Or maybe it's your fault. Why did you have to run in the building, even though I told you not to? Did you not see that you could possibly die, and I'd be all alone? Why'd you have to do something so stupid like that? I thought you were smarter than that. And now I'm all alone. My life is upside down now, thanks to you. And it was all for nothing, because Callaghan died anyways also. No one was saved. Your death was pointless. How could you do this to me?_

Hiro had to stop writing because his hand was trembling too much and he was blotching the paper with tears. He couldn't write anymore. It was just too painful. So he added a last, closing sentence.

_Wherever you are, I hope you're getting this. Love, Hiro._

Hiro ripped the letter out from the notebook and ran downstairs to the kitchen. It was empty, because his aunt was busy working in the Cafe. The only witness who would see what he was doing was Mochi.

Rummaging through the drawers, Hiro fumbled for the matchbox his Aunt kept for the birthday cakes she made. When he found it, he struck the match, causing a flame to appear.

In his trembling hands, he placed the flame right on the paper. The letter caught fire in an instant, the paper blackening and burning. Hiro let go of the corner he was holding so his fingers wouldn't get burned. The letter was now burned completely, a cloud of smoke was the only evidence that it had existed at all. Hiro opened the window and waved the smoke out. He watched as the black mist flew higher into the sky before disappearing.

Hiro smiled tearfully. "I hope the postal service in Heaven doesn't suck."

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><p><strong>So yeah, short chapter. But if you're liking this (I guess you can call it a Heaven AU?), then feel free to leave me a review! I'd appreciate it. Thanks to all those who reviewedfollowed. To BrokenWings2602, yup, that's Lady! Good eye :). To SuperHiros, you'll have to keep reading to find out. Also, does anyone know who Winston is based off of? Anyways, I'll see you guys at the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5- Holiday Fun

**So yeah, this chapter is slightly out of whack because the events in the next chapters take place _before _the holiday season. But it's Christmas today, and I wanted this chapter to be out there. So bear with me, please. :D**

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><p>Tadashi was inside the Institute, fire roaring around him. "Professor Callaghan!" Tadashi cried out, his lungs already burning from smoke inhalation. He coughed and began running. There was a loud rumbling noise, like a monster about to wake up from his sleep. And before he knew it, everything around him came crumbling down and the fire ate him alive. "No, no no!" he screamed….<p>

"No!"

"Oh my, what the heck are you screaming for?"

Tadashi shot up like a rocket in his bed, his head smashing against something solid. The impact gave made him disoriented and shot white hot pain through his skull as he fell back in his bed instantly.

"Ow!"

Blinking back pain tears, Tadashi opened his eyes and saw Mariah, holding her head in agony. She was sitting cross legged at the foot of his bed. Winston, as usual, was slobbering on Hiro's bed, oblivious to the screaming going on.

After the pain in his head faded away (which only took about ten seconds) Tadashi asked, "Mariah, how did you get in my room?"

"A better question would be 'Why were you just screaming like a maniac'," she shot back. "Or even better, 'Hey Mariah, sorry for making you suffer head trauma, can you forgive me?'"

The man rolled his eyes. "Sorry. But in case you haven't noticed, I wasn't expecting any visitors." He looked over Mariah's shoulder and saw his half completed robotics project. Making a second Baymax was harder than he thought, even with all the manifested robot parts he could make in a matter of seconds. He had been working on it for what seemed like hours, until his entire being, soul and spirit also, was protesting for rest. He then glared at Mariah. "Did you just break and enter into my house?"

Mariah put her hand over her heart and gave a overly dramatic gasp. "I cannot even think you would accuse me of doing such a criminal thing. I would never break and enter. I just made a key that is identical to the one you use and used it to open the door. It's not my fault you didn't notice me come in."

"Once again, nothing is safe from you," Tadashi grumbled. "What was so important that you had to sit in my room and watch me sleep like a total stalker?"

Mariah glared at him. "If it makes you feel better, I have enough courtesy not to watch a man sleep without his knowledge. I was watching movies on your TV the whole time. I just came into your room just now." She looked at him with a triumphant smile.

"Thanks, I feel so much better," Tadashi replied sarcastically. "Now tell my why you decided to pay me this visit?:

Mariah gave him her famous _You've got to be joking look_. "It's a very very very important event today, both on Earth and Here." At Tadashi's blank look, she gave him her _Wow you are really being an idiot_ right now glare.

"It's Christmas, genius. And you and I are going out right now to celebrate."

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><p>"There's no time in Here. How do you know it's Christmas?"<p>

Main Street had been entirely changed. Snow was covering the ground and snowflakes drifted from the sky. All the stores looked like gingerbread houses and smelled like it too. Candles were lined the sidewalk and were glowing brightly. Mariah had manifested a new outfit to match the season: a blue sweater with a snowman on it and jeans. She even insisted that Tadashi wear a sweater also. That's how he ended up wearing a sweater that lit up and played Silent Night on loop.

"It's Christmas down on Earth, so that's what we're going with up Here," Mariah replied.

"What about the other holidays, like Kwanzaa or Hanukkah?" Tadashi questioned. "Do you not celebrate those?"

"Of course we do. Look, there's menorahs in that window." She pointed inside a restaurant, where a menorah stood on display. Plates of latkes were positioned around it. "We celebrate all holidays."

"Oh." Tadashi looked around before clearing his throat. "So, where are we off to?"

"I want you to desire to be at the Christmas tree."

"I'm sorry the what?"

"Will you just do it?"

Tadashi shut his eyes. _I want to be at the Christmas tree…. or whatever._

He felt the familiar rollercoaster rush before landing, this time being able not to fall on his face.

"We're here!" Mariah shouted suddenly. She grabbed Tadashi and began running towards a gigantic Christmas tree covered in ornaments, tinsel, and strung popcorn. The Christmas lights were blinking so rapidly they seemed like a colorful blur.

"That is the most amazing Christmas tree I have ever seen," he said in awe, looking up. The tree was so tall that his neck was hurting trying to look at it.

"I guess, if you've never celebrated Christmas here before," she said simply. She then frowned at Tadashi before unexpectedly punching him in the chest. There was a fizzle of broken machinery and the tune of "Silent Night" droned off as Tadashi doubled over in pain.

"What the heck was that for?"

Mariah giggled. "Sorry, your Silent Night song was getting annoying."

"And you couldn't have just, I don't know, desired for it to turn off?"

"Sometimes I like taking the hard way."

Tadashi straightened himself out, wincing, the pain in his chest fading. "You are going to be the death of me one day, you know that?"

"You can't kill what's already dead."

"It's a figure of speech!" Tadashi snapped. Mariah just laughed.

"You are one funny dude. But there's a reason why I brought you here." She ran off towards the tree. Once she reached the base, she crouched down and picked up a small package. Dusting off the snow, she rushed back then gave her friend the present with a grin. "I hope you like it."

"You got me something?" Tadashi murmured. Mariah nodded.

"Of course. You're my friend." When Tadashi made no movement at all, she tilted her head and looked at him. "Well, are you opening it or not?"

Snapping out of his daze, Tadashi ripped the wrapping paper off and shook the object out. It was one of those Waving Cat statues his Aunt put up in the cafe. It had a red collar and had its paw up in the air, as if it was saying "Hi," to him. The cat looked like it was handmade, due to its slightly deformed head and lopsided body. Handpainted also, because some of the colors were smeared together.

"Do you like it?" Mariah questioned, slightly insecure at what Tadashi would say. "I can read your mind, remember, so don't even think about lying," she added, half joking.

Tadashi held the little statue in his hand. He remembered when he and Hiro were younger, they would make little clay figures for each other as gifts. That was so long ago, almost a decade. Yet holding this lopsided figurine brought back all the memories. "I love it," he whispered.

Mariah's eyes lit up. "You really do?" Tadashi nodded then looked at her, his eyes glowing.

"Yeah. I do."

Mariah didn't had to read his mind to know the truth. She could see it in his eyes.

From a distance, music began playing, and a marching band started trickling out from the distance. Everyone cheered and rushed towards the front of the street to get a better look. Large holiday floats were being driven behind the band. Mariah gasped. "The parade! Come on , let's go to the front!" She plowed through the crowd ruthlessly, earning a few annoyed looks. Tadashi followed behind, muttering "Excuse me," and "Sorry, coming through." When he finally squeezed to the front, Mariah grabbed him and pointed.

"Look at that float! It's made entirely out of ice! Oh wow, there's a lion on that one. Haven't seen that before. Oooh, doesn't the music sound amazing?"

Tadashi watched the parade while listening to Mariah ramble on about each float. As he watched the ice float pass by, he felt something in his heart. It wasn't a feeling that could be described. The best he could explain it was that it was similar to the feeling he had with Hiro, back on Earth when he was still alive. It was similar to the feeling he got when he and Hiro worked on robotics projects together or when they played silly games together. Tadashi glanced down at his younger friend, who had stopped talking and was now just watching the parade with wide eyes.

It wasn't the exact same feeling he had with Hiro. But it felt unbelievably close.

"Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!" a float rider screamed to the crowd.

"Happy Holidays!" everyone yelled back. Cannons of confetti exploded, showering the crowd with the brightly colored pieces of paper. People behind Mariah and Tadashi started pushing, eager to get closer to the parade.

Unconsciously, he squeezed Mariah closer to him, making a little bit more room for other people to come forward. The indescribable feeling came back in his heart, this time burning a little more brighter.

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><p><strong>Don't worry Mariah isn't here in this story to replace Hiro. And Mariah and Tadashi will not be falling in love or anything romance-y like that. (She's 13 and he's 20. Big age difference.) Anyways, I hope you liked this little holiday chapter. If you like how this story is going, feel free to leave a review! I'd really appreciate it. Thanks to all those who have already reviewed, faved, and followed. Knowing that you've done that is like a present already. Special thanks to my editor for giving me the Waving Cat figurine idea. Merry Christmas and Happy holidays!<strong> ❆ ❆


	6. Chapter 6- Meet the Parents

**Thanks to all the reviews you guys sent me! Also, Winston is a reference to the short _Feast_. Anyways enjoy!**

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><p><em>Tadashi tossed poured flour into the mixing bowl. He squinted at the cookbook he had propped on the counter, trying to make out the instructions which had been covered with uncooked pancake batter. "Does it say add sugar or add salt?" he questioned, only being able to make out the letter "s". The rest of the word was covered by dripping batter. The seven year old looked behind his shoulder, where one year old Hiro was "taste testing" the gooey pancake mess. "What do you think, Hiro?"<em>

"_Sat," he replied, not being able to make out the "L" sound. Tadashi laughed._

"_Alright, I'm taking your word for it," he replied dropping spoonful after spoonful of salt into the mix. He looked at the batter with an unsure look. "Well it looks like mashed corn soup after being left in the sun for a day, but maybe that's because we haven't cooked it yet." Hiro shrugged and stuffed more batter into his mouth. Midchew, he made a face and spat it out. _

"_Yuck." He used his mouth and began scraping his tongue. "Dashi bad cook." His older brother scowled at him. _

"_You're one year old. What do you know about cooking?" Tadashi poured the batter into the pan and turned on the fire. Hiro watched his sibling as he cooked the pancakes. _

"_Can I have one?" he asked, pointing to the finished pancakes Tadashi was piling on their plate. Tadashi swatted Hiro's hand away._

"_No bonehead, they're for mom. It's Mother's Day remember?" Hiro frowned, obviously disappointed._

_Suddenly, Tadashi heard footsteps coming down from his parents' bedroom. "Quick we need to hide everything!" he hissed to Hiro. He threw all the dirty pans and dishes into the sink and slammed the pancake platter onto the center of the dining table. Tadashi grabbed Hiro and sat him on the chair before jumping into his own seat just as his mom and dad came into the room._

"_Happy Mother's Day!" Tadashi yelled. "I made you breakfast!" His mother beamed._

"_Oh thank you boys!" she gushed. Maemi grabbed her sons and pulled them into a big hug. She glanced up to her husband. "Tomeo, isn't this so sweet of them?"_

"_Uh huh, very sweet," their father said, scanning the messy kitchen counter and floor. "Um, Maemi sweetheart," he gestured slightly to the mess around them. Maemi shot him a stern look. _

"_Oh, we can clean that up __**later**__, can't we?" she replied, putting more emphasis on the word "later". She looked at her sons and smiled again. "I can't wait to try your breakfast!" Maemi grabbed a pancake and tossed it into her mouth. Her happy face turned surprised, bordering slightly on disgusted. The woman saw Tadashi watching. _

"_What do you think?" he asked in anticipation._

_After forcing herself to swallow, she smiled. "It tastes…. wonderful, Tadashi. Just, how much salt did you put into it?"_

"_7 tablespoons!"_

_Maemi's eyes grew wide and restrained herself from gagging. "How wonderful. Tomeo, care to share this delicious breakfast our son made us?" _

"_It's Mother's Day, Maemi. It should be all yours," Tomeo said, trying to hold back his own laughter._

"Tadashi?"

The man blinked, snapping out of his daze. "Huh?"

Mariah raised her brow. "You've been staring at that tree for five minutes."

Tadashi felt confused, until he remembered that he and Mariah had been walking through some garden together and talking about Tadashi's life down on Earth. They were about to leave when he saw a cherry blossom tree in their path. The soft pink flowers and dark brown bark had stopped him in his tracks. Memories of his parents, memories that had been collecting dust for over ten years had flooded his mind. It seemed like lately, all Tadashi had been doing was remembering things from his childhood.

"Sorry, this tree just reminds me of someone I lost. Cherry blossoms were her favorite. It reminded her of the country she lived in before moving to San Fransokyo. Tadashi sighed and looked back up at the tree. He could still remember receiving the news of his parents' deaths. It was so fast, so unexpected. Hiro had cried for two weeks straight, always asking when they were coming back. He had to stay strong for Hiro, even though he was breaking down himself.

Mariah looked at the tree. "Cherry blossoms are quite pretty," she said lamely, trying to fill in the awkward silence that had fallen between them. _It's a good time to tell him now, when he's taking a happy walk down memory lane._ She smiled suddenly. "Well it's a good thing I decided to take you to your parents right now." Tadashi heart skipped a beat (even though his heart didn't beat anymore) and whirled around to face her.

"You found out where they live?" he whispered in excitement.

"Yeah I did. And why are you whispering?" Mariah questioned.

"I don't know!" Tadashi cried in excitement. He began jumping around in some sort of happy panic. "Let's go, then!" He began running through the park, kicking leaves and dust as he went.

"You do realize I haven't told you what their address was?" Mariah shouted after him, but Tadashi was already out of earshot.

Mariah shook her head and began walking after him.

"The things I put up with this weirdo."

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><p>"This is it."<p>

Tadashi looked at the home in front of him. It was painted cream and had rose bushes and petunias growing all over the yard. Lion statues were positioned at the entrance. The windows hosted bright blue curtains and there was a bright red swingset in the backyard. "It's just like our old house. Before they died," he murmured. In the corner of his eye, he saw movement, indicating that there were people inside. Tadashi bit his lip hard. _I'm finally going to see them._

Mariah patted her friend's shoulder. "Well, I'm heading to the post office. I'll meet up with you later." Tadashi frowned.

"You're leaving?"

"These are your parents, Tadashi, not mine. It's not right of me to butt in. Besides, this is your moment not mine." She waved goodbye and walked off before disappearing into the air. Teleportation, as always.

Tadashi gulped and began the walk to the front door. _What do I do? What do I say? Would they even want to see me?_ Tadashi was about to change his mind and run off until he realized he had already knocked on the front door. The man froze in his spot when he heard a soft voice come from inside.

"Coming!"

The doorknob turned and a woman with black hair that reached her waist opened the door. She wore a jacket with flower designs stitched onto it and had a red skirt that brushes the ground. She looked different, but Tadashi felt himself seize up when he saw her.

The woman smiled, her eyes having not met Tadashi's yet. "Hello, how may I help-"

Maemi's eyes widened when she saw the person standing in front of her. She couldn't move and couldn't think. _It can't be._

It had been almost ten years. Maybe even more. _This… it can't be. I would know._

Slowly, she lifted her hand up to touch Tadashi's face, as if checking to see if this was just some illsuion. Her son smiled weakly and placed his hand over hers. "Hi mom. Long time no see," he choked out.

Maemi cracked a tearful smile and pulled her son into a tight hug. She shut her eyes tightly as tears streamed down her face. The two of them collapsed on the floor, still in their embrace. "Musuko, my musuko," she wept, and squeezed him tighter. "It's been so long," she whispered.

"Mom, calm down," Tadashi laughed, even though he was crying just as hard as her. He hadn't cried this hard since they died, and now he was crying harder at their reunion.

"Maemi, who was at the door?" a male voice called out. There were heavy footsteps coming to the doorway and a sharp intake of breath. The male crouched down, and Tadashi looked up and felt his breath hitch.

"Hey, dad."

Tomeo stared at Tadashi, long enough to make him slightly uncomfortable. "Hey um -"

He was cut off when a single tear ran down his father's cheek and and Tomeo threw his arms around Tadashi. "Oh wow ok," Tadashi grunted as he was thrown into another bonecrushing embrace.

They must have stayed like that for a long time, just hugging and crying in the doorway. When his mother pulled away, she whispered, "You've grown up so big. It seems like only yesterday you were only nine years old." Tadashi grinned.

"Yeah well time flies by, doesn't it."

Maemi nodded, wiping away her tears before a darker, sadder look replaced her mask of happiness. "Oh Tadashi I'm so sorry."

Tadashi frowned. "Sorry for what?" he asked, confused. This only seem to make his mom more distressed.

"I'm sorry you had to join us so soon."

Realizing what she meant, Tadashi simply shook his head. "It's alright mom. I'm ok with it -or at least I'm getting used to it. Seeing you right now… that's enough for me at the moment."

His father chuckled. "Same here."

When silence broke in, Tadashi said cautiously, "Hey mom?"

"Yes, Tadashi?"

"I don't know if you know this, but sometimes at night, I'd ask if you were proud of me and Hiro. So I guess I'm wondering if you have an answer for me?"

Maemi felt tears streaking down her face again. "Oh Tadashi. Proud doesn't even begin to describe how lucky I am to call you and Hiro my sons."

Tadashi felt himself getting choked up again. "Thank you," he said, voice cracking.

And they all hugged again, tears splashing the ground. No words were exchanged between the three of them, because they weren't needed.

Tadashi was with his parents once more.

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><p><strong>So that's the end of that chapter. Feel free to review and tell me what you think. Happy New Years!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7-The Article

**Hey, sorry for not updating in awhile. School and writer's block. Nuff said.**

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><p>A post office is not exciting. That's all Mariah needed to know.<p>

She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the woman with red hair in front of her to pick up her mail. She sighed, and looked down at her feet. Usually she'd have Winston to help relieve her of her boredom, but the post office's "No Pets" rule made her have to leave the Border Collie outside. When the red haired lady finally left, Mariah stepped up to the counter, smiling slightly. "Hi Spike," she greeted the boy behind the counter. Mariah and Spike were friends, but they barely knew each other outside of Spike giving her mail every so often.

The boy looked up and grinned. "Hey Mariah. Here for your mail?"

"No, I'm here for my Chinese takeout," she responded sarcastically.

Spike snorted. "Anyways, I have something that might interest you." He pushed a newspaper towards her, folded so that a single article was facing up. Mariah took the paper and read it silently.

**Breaking News: Dark Angels on the Rise?**

**It has reached our attention that several angels have been associating with darker activities, labeling them as "dark angels." It sounds like something from a movie, but it is most certainly not. Angels are known for their beautiful white wings, but when white turns to black, that's when you start to worry.**

"**Dark angels down on Earth can be depicted with black wings," Council Member Celeste says. "We never expected that these depictions would come true."**

**What causes such chaotic events? It is unknown, but it seems as if all of our angels, the people of Here that have the highest rank, have a sudden change of heart. "It seems as if angels don't want to be angels anymore."**

**What does that mean for us? Angelic members, such as members of the Council, Angel Elite, and the largest of all, Guardian Angels, will be put under surveillance. "What worries us most are the Guardian Angels, where most of this 'Dark Angel' business has been taking place. Guardian Angels have the ability to walk from one side of the Earth Bridge to another at will without the need for special clearance, which means they could wreak havoc down on Earth. To think that people who have dedicated their status to protection would become like this."**

**Hopefully, this Dark Angel epidemic would be put to rest. However, if you seem any angelic members acting out of character, it is best you note the authorities or Council immediately.**

There was more to it, but before Mariah finished, Spike had already come back to the counter with her letters. "So, pretty interesting article, eh?"

"I guess. But what was the point of showing me this?" Mariah asked, scooping the mail into her arms.

"Because you're always like, 'There's no such thing as dark angels! It's all phony.' Well _this_ proves you wrong." Spike crossed his arms.

Mariah rolled her eyes. "This doesn't prove anything. It's just hype."

"Remember that when the dark angels come and get you," Spike snorted.

"Ha ha, very funny." Mariah looked over Spike's shoulder and cleared her throat. "Hey, um, any chance I can pick up Tadashi Hamada's mail too?"

Spike frowned. "Against policy and rules. Besides, knowing you, you're up to no good."

Mariah gaped. "Am not! I'm just being a good friend for Tadashi, that's all. Besides, he's a newbie with no idea where the post office is, and he should be expecting a letter from the Council soon. It's important!" Mariah leaned closer. "Please Spike? I'm your friend!"

Spike bit his lip then groaned. "Fine fine. But knowing this you it can't turn out good." He disappeared into the back and came back with a single envelope and several folded letters. "Here," he said plopping the mail into Mariah's pile. "Now scoot. I have other people to help."

The girl had forgotten about the people behind her. Ducking her head so not to be shamed by their glares, she quickly ran outside. Winston, who was napping by the door, raised his head when he saw her and quickly bounded after her.

Meanwhile, Mariah shifted through her letter pile. Just the usual letters from the Council, sending her lists of the new arrivals she was supposed to greet later on. When she reached Tadashi's part, she smiled when she saw a letter addressed to him from the Council, probably to announce his status. She'd give that to him later. Mariah thumbed through the letters some more, but paused when she realized that several of them were from the same person. She went back and picked out one of Tadashi's letters, scanning it. _Dear Tadashi.._ were the first words. Her eyes drifted towards the signature at the bottom. _Love, Hiro._

Hiro? She looked underneath that letter and saw that the next one was from Hiro too.

Oh. So Tadashi's little brother was sending him letters from Earth.

For some reason, there was conflict between Mariah's mind and her hands. In her mind, she knew she was going to have to give Hiro's letters to Tadashi, but her hands were doing something completly different. Before she knew it she had stuffed the letters into a bag she had manifested on the spot. She didn't even know what she was doing until Winston gave a sharp bark.

"What?" Mariah snapped, looking at her dog. The Collie snorted and bit the bag. Mariah yanked it away from him furiously. "I'm not keeping secrets from him, if that's what you're thinking," she spat.

Winston huffed.

"I'll give to him, I will. Just not now. I need to do some.. _investigating._ It'll be fine, I promise. Now come on, I want to see if Tadashi's done with his little meet-and-greet." She turned heel and started walking away. Winston sighed, trotting sadly after her

_First promise broken_

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><p>"Come back soon, will you?" Maemi asked anxiously as Tadashi hugged her goodbye. Tadashi chuckled.<p>

"How could I pass up oppurtunities to spend with my parents? I just wish I could stay longer," he said.

"Then why not stay?" Tomeo asked. "We've got all the time in the world!"

"I have to meet Mariah," Tadashi said, drifting from hugging his mom to hugging his dad. "But I'll be back soon."

"Maemi wiped her eyes. "Well alright," she sniffed. She swept Tadashi up into a large embrace. "Last hug!," she cried, squeezing her son tightly. Tadashi was lucky he had already died, otherwise he would have found it extremely hard to breathe.

"Mom, you're just like Aunt Cass." Tadashi quickly kissed her on the cheek before heading out through the yard, waving good bye.

As he walked, Tadashi felt as if a large balloon of happiness was swelling up in him, He had met his parents after ten years!. It was unbelievable, and now he had the option to visit them whenever he wanted.

He would have kept walking, lost in his own thoughts, if he didn't see the building, with its large marble splendor and gigantic Earth globe on top.

The Looking Room.

The only place he would be able to see anybody down on Earth. It was just his luck that Mariah made him promise not to go there until he was ready.

_What person are you, taking orders from a thirteen year old? _a snide voice in his head asked. _Besides, what does 'being ready' even me? And you crossed your fingers so it doesn't count. Just go inside!_

Tadashi looked at the building. The more he stared the more tempted he was. _Just go. You want to see Hiro again, don't you?_

He took one step closer.

"Hey Tadashi!"

The man whipped his head around. Mariah waved at him, then ran towards him, hair flying back. She braked to a stop in front of him. "So, how was meeting your parents?"

"Oh it was awesome," Tadashi said, glancing at the building behind them every now and then. Mariah narrowed her eyes slightly, but shook her head.

"Here's your mail," she said, giving the envelope to Tadashi. He blinked and looked at it.

"Oh. Thanks."

He looked at Mariah's hand full of letters. "Lucky. Guess you're more popular than I am," he said, laughing. Mariah joined in uncomfortably.

"Yeah. I guess."

Winston barked and began biting at Mariah's bag. Realizing what her dog was up to, Mariah's eyes widened and snatched the bag out of his mouth and used her leg to push Winston away. "Bad dog," she scolded. Winston growled.

Tadashi tilted his head. "Is that a new bag?" he asked, pointing the object holding letters from his brother.

"Uh, yeah. It is," Mariah said. It wasn't a lie, at least.

"Huh. Never knew you were a bag person."

"I'm a girl. I don't need to explain myself." She shifted the bag so it was mostly out of view. "Ready to get going?"

"Yeah," Tadashi said, looking back at the Looking Room again.

_Soon._

Tadashi began walking. "Hey, wait up!".

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><p><strong>Anyways, I'm going to try to update every week, alternating updates between this fic and my other one, Bow to the King. I'm on the verge of falling asleep so...<strong>

**Thanks to all who reviewed/followed/faved! I'm too tired to acknowledged everyone right now, so maybe in the next chapter? Sorry!**

**Oh Mariah, what are you up to?**

**Please review if you liked! **

**~Vanillart**


	8. Chapter 8- Heavenly Baymax

_Dear Tadashi,_

_I've lost my appetite. To be honest, I haven't been eating a lot since the showcase. I know Aunt Cass is worried about me, but I don't care. She wants me to go to the university and start class, but I see no point. You're one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the first place, and now that you're gone, is there any reason to continue? Robotics, inventing, I do all of that because of you. I can't picture me working at SFIT alongside your friends while you're missing. Honey, Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred have been trying to cheer me up, but they're just making things worse. Everywhere I go, everything someone says, reminds me of you. I don't know why._

"Wow, Hiro's going through some issues right now," Mariah murmured, spooning Fruit Loops into her mouth. She was sitting inside Tadashi's apartment, the T.V. blaring the Spongebob theme song. She dig her feet into Winston's soft fur, who was lying underneath her feet. Tadashi was off in his lab, doing his genius geeky stuff. What he was doing in there she didn't know, but it must be important because he could spend long periods of time cooped up in the lab.

Meanwhile, she was taking this time to look through all of Hiro's letters. Sure, some people saw this as an invasion of privacy, but Mariah preferred to look at it as learning more about Tadashi's brother. The ability to see a person's thought was a rare gift that was put on her, and even though she tried not to use it too often, she knew that Tadashi thought of Hiro fondly.

But from what she was reading now, Hiro was more sad than an empty sack of potatoes.

Mariah shifted the letter to the bottom, and started reading the second letter.

* * *

><p>"I am satisfied with my care."<p>

The sound of squeaks, and then it was gone, packaged back in its luggage.

Tadashi grinned. It took him a while, but finally, he finished. Not to mention he fixed most of the glitches and bugs that were present with Earth Baymax. Surprisingly, there was more than he thought. Tadashi looked out the window of his robotics lab. Mariah had gone inside the bakery with Winston. He exited the lab, and began walking to the cafe.

When he was inside, it wasn't a shock that Mariah was sitting on the couch, watching Spongebob while chowing down breakfast. He walked behind her and rubbed a knuckle into her hair, just like he used to do with Hiro. The girl yelped in surprise, shoving something away, but Tadashi wasn't able to see what.. "Tadashi!" she complained, batting his hand away. The inventor simply whistled innocently.

"I want you to come with me to my lab. I have a surprise for you."

Mariah raised her brow. "Good surprise or bad?."

"Well if I told you, it wouldn't be very surprising now, would it?"

"If you're not telling me, then I'm not coming."

"Well whether you want to or not, you're coming," Tadashi grumbled, grabbing Mariah and dragging her out the door.

"Hey!" she cried, trying to get back to the T.V..

"Help! Help! Crazed man kidnapping a girl!"

"I'm missing the Goofy Goober Song right now!"

* * *

><p><em>Just wait until my brother sees you.<em>

"Tadashi, is covering my eyes really necessary?"

"Well if you could see it, it wouldn't be very surprising now, would it?

"No, but I'd stop having the feeling something horrible's going to happen."

"Calm down," Tadashi huffed. "You're going to love it."

_Just like Hiro did, _he added in his head

Hands still over her eyes, Tadashi positioned Mariah in front of Baymax's luggage case. "Hiro thought this was cool, and if he liked it, I'm pretty sure you're going to also."

"Pretty sure? You've got a lot riding on this."

"Would you stop killing the mood?" Tadashi snapped. "Okay, you can look now." He uncovered her eyes.

Mariah blinked. There was nothing in front of her except a window and a red box. "Fascinating," she deadpanned.

Tadashi grabbed a roll of duct tape off a nearby table, tore off a piece, and stuck it on Mariah's arm. "I'm glad you think so," he replied cheerfully, and tore the tape off with as much force as possible.

"OW!" Mariah screamed. She whipped around to face Tadashi. "What was that for?"

Before he could respond, Mariah kicked him in the shin.

"Ow! Mariah!" Tadashi cried, holding his leg. He winced. He didn't remember Hiro attacking him in self defense the first time around.

"Well that's what you get when -" She was cut off by an inflating noise that filled the room.

"What. Is. That."

Baymax blinked slowly. After a moment of gathering the surroundings, he waddled over.

"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I heard cries of distress. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" A screen with ten different faces appeared on the robot's belly, one being a smiling face, and ten being an extremely unhappy face.

Mariah gawked at Baymax. "Um, three?" she said uncertainly.

"I will now scan you," the robot announced.

"Wait what?"

"Scanning complete. You have a slight abrasion on your right forearm. Starting treatment."

As Baymax tended to the wound, Mariah looked back at her friend. "So… you invented a robotic doctor?"

Tadashi grinned. "In a nutshell, yes. You like it?"

The girl smiled. "I guess. He looks very… huggable. Like I want to squeeze the life out of it."

"I am a robot. I am not alive. Therefore, the life cannot be squeezed out of me," Baymax said in his robotic voice.

Mariah snorted. "Is this guy for real?"

Tadashi winced. "Yeah, he takes things very seriously." Tadashi leaned closer to Baymax. "He has some glitches that I want to work out." The inventor opened up Baymax's access port. He pointed to the green healthcare chip. "That is what make Baymax, well, Baymax."

Mariah looked at the chip in fascination. "Wow. So basically all the knowledge is stored on that little thing?"

"Yup," Tadashi replied proudly. "But one of the bugs I'm working out it getting Baymax to read _this _chip." He held up a golden chip that also had his name on it. But instead of a picture of a doctor, there was a picture of an angel on it. "This is the Heaven Chip. I've been researching at the library, and it turns out there's some medical illnesses and cures that only happen up in Heaven. So, I'm programming Baymax to know all of it. Unfortunately, he refuses to read the chip. But once he does, well, I can call him Heavenly Baymax, because he'll know everything about angels and the afterlife."

"Wait, slow down," Mariah said. "You're telling me I can get sick even though I'm already _dead?_"

"You're dead, not invincible," Tadashi chuckled. Mariah pouted.

"Alright, if you don't believe me, I took some notes on some of the diseases. They're over there." He pointed to his work table.

Mariah walked over and picked up the stack of notes, all written with slightly sloppy handwriting. She was scanning one of the pages when something caught her eye. It was the letter from the Council that she had given Tadashi what she was assuming was a couple of Earth days ago. She picked it up. "You still haven't opened your letter yet?" she cried in disbelief.

"Oh that? It's not like I didn't try to open it. It doesn't open. It's sealed shut," Tadashi explained. He had tried since the moment he got it rip the envelope open, but the flap would never budge. It was like someone had superglued it shut.

Mariah slid her finger into a corner of the a single effortless move, the envelope ripped open, and she took the letter out. Waving it in front of Tadashi's shocked face, she said, "If you can't open an envelope, I think you should apply for a gym membership."

Tadashi hurried over and grabbed the letter. "I'm serious, it didn't open before!" He opened the letter and started reading.

_Dear Tadashi Hamada,_

_If you are reading this letter, that means you have successfully opened the envelope. We made sure the envelope would not be able to open untill we are ready to give you your status. Once you have finished reading this, report to the Council building immediately._ _You have been exclusively slected to join the Guardians, the elite group of Guardian Angels. We are the angels that protect the humans down on earth. More will be explained later._

_Please note that you have been chosen because of your past, your abilities, and your actions from your Earth life. The Guardians are an extremely hard group to be part of, so congratulations on making it. Please arrive at the Council building now to learn more about your new status._

_Sincerely,_

_Allison Callaghan_

_Head of Angel Elite_

_Head of the Guardians_

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><p><strong>So this is where the plot starts to surface! I'm excited where this is going, and I hope you guys are too!<strong>

**Thank you if you have reviewed, faved and followed! Your reviews help me keep motivated and inspired, (So please, leave a review! It's greatly appreciated ;)**


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